You will choose between seeing and looking, and put the right case on the thing you see or look at.
The idea
Use görmek when something comes into your sight or you meet someone: the thing seen usually takes the accusative, as in Ayşe'yi gördüm. Use bakmak when you turn your eyes on something on purpose: the thing takes -e/-a, as in Haritaya bakıyorum. With a person or a child, bakmak can also mean to take care of.
| Verb | Case of the thing | Example |
|---|---|---|
| görmek | -i / -ı / -u / -ü | Ayşe'yi gördüm. |
| bakmak | -e / -a | Haritaya bakıyorum. |
Examples
- Dün Ayşe'yi gördüm.I saw Ayşe yesterday.Görmek takes the accusative: Ayşe'yi. The apostrophe separates a proper name from its suffix.
- Ali haritaya bakıyor.Ali is looking at the map.
- Sen bu filmi gördün mü?Have you seen this film?
- Menüye bir bakalım.Let's have a look at the menu.
- Buraya bak!Look here!
- Annem çocuklarıma bakıyor.My mother looks after my children.Bakmak with a person in the dative can mean to take care of; the context tells you whether it is looking or caring.
- Gözlüğüm yok, tabelayı göremiyorum.I have no glasses, so I cannot see the sign.
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Watch out
Translating every English "look" with görmek loses the case: Haritayı bakıyorum and Haritaya görüyorum are both wrong. Haritayı görüyorum is correct, but it means "I can see the map", not "I am looking at the map".
Try it yourself
Write bakmak in the present continuous: the child is looking at the bird.
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bakıyor
bakıyor: the look goes to the bird on purpose, which the -a in kuşa shows, and bakmak asks for that case; with görmek it would be kuşu.
Write görmek in the past tense for I: yesterday I saw Ali in the street.
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gördüm
gördüm: Ali'yi is in the accusative, the case of görmek; in the past, ö gives -dü, and -m means "I".
Write the bare verb: Look at this!
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bak
bak: şuna carries -a, so bakmak fits; the bare stem is the familiar command.
Write görmek in the past tense for you: have you seen this film?
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gördün
gördün: bu filmi is in the accusative, so görmek; after the vowel ö comes -dün with ü, and then mü fits.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Write bakmak in the present continuous: the child is looking at the bird.
Write görmek in the past tense for I: yesterday I saw Ali in the street.
Write the bare verb: Look at this!
Write görmek in the past tense for you: have you seen this film?
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
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Write four sentences about your room: two with görmek and two with bakmak. Mark the case suffix on each thing.